Defaming people and interfering in their privacies and secrets-2

3/29/2016 12:00:00 AM
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| The Message of Islam:

I said: Part of the means of defamation is the media publications of nowadays related to interfering in a person or people's privacies and secrets under the name of criticism, which includes intimation, insinuation, or provoking them whether with the intention of making them furious or not. It also includes drawing or a way of allusion like the case of caricature drawing whether it is in a newspaper, a book,a painting on a wall or otherwise.

Exception from the (prohibited) Defamation:

Although defamation is originally prohibited but there are specific exceptions depending on the person who is defamed, then it would be prohibited. These exceptions are two kinds:

The first: Defamation by someone against another based on a legitimate reason. Backbiting is prohibited as referred to in advance, and this prohibition is exiled - as stated in the Maliki's Mazhab (Maliki's School) in six forms – where the First one is advice. With inference that the Prophet – Peace be upon him – said to Fatimah bint Qais while she consulted Him (the Prophet) about the proposal of marriage sent to her by Mua'wiya and Abi Jahm: "As for Mu'awiya, he is a poor man having no property, and as for Abu Jahm, he does not put down his staff from his shoulder. [Narrated by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad 6/412]. The Prophet mentioned these two imperfections because of the advice and saying the imperfection here is restricted to the fact dire need for them. The second form is contesting and alteration in witnesses at the Ruler's while expecting the verdict based on the saying of the concerned (defamed) person. The third form is the person who openly declares his perpetration of evil, there is no harm relate it because it does not hurt him if his evils are mentioned. The fourth form is the people of innovation (in religion) and misguidances, because defaming them is warning people of their evils. The fifth form is when both the speaker and the addressee are aware of the backbiting. The sixth form is the case when the backbiter reports to the Ruler where he is accused to have taken (the backbitten person's) money or blunted his honor [Al-furu'q for Al-Qara'fi 4/205-209].It is permissible in the Mazhab of Imam Al-Sha'fi'i to attack the openly declared innovator (in religion) and the unchaste [Mughni Al-Muhta'j for Al-Sharbi'ni Al- kati'b 4/430]. In the Mazhab of Imam Ahmad, the woman who conducts the other women and men into evils and imperfection should be defamed for the need of staying far away from her [Ka'shaaf Al-Qana' An Matni Al-Iqna'a for Al- Bahu'uti 6/127].

The second: Defamation by the guardian, which is an obligation in penal issues by implication of the words of Almighty Allah:

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(And a group of believers must witness their punishment) [Al-Noor: 2]

The reason in this is to enjoin people and make them understand what the state of the offender should be, and this does not happen unless the penalty is given in front of the crowd. But defamation in non-penalties issues is the choice of the guardian according to the situation and depending on the public interest as what's said by Abu Al-Hasan Al-Mawardi: "If the Ruler realized the adequacy of deterring the loan to be public and calling them by their crimes, He's allowed to do that "[Al-Ahkam Al-Sultaaniyyah p. 271]. The Ruler may defame the judge if he acknowledges tolerability, or it was proven by evidence. As he is permitted to defame the opponent's prompter whether he is a jurist or other, as he may defame the false witness and which can even be an obligation considering that this offense is a major sin by inference from the saying of the Prophet - peace be upon him -: "Should I inform you about the gravest of the grave sins?" They said, "Yes, O Allah's Messenger!" He said, "To join others in worship with Allah and to be undutiful to one's parents." The Prophet – Peace be upon him - then sat up after he had been reclining (on a pillow) and said, "And I warn you against giving a false witness, and he kept on saying that warning until we thought he would not stop [Agreed upon].

Part of defamation of interest nowadays is for instance, defaming the perpetrator of cheating whether he's a trader in his shop, a civil servant in his office, a worker in his working place, or a company in its works or its business and anything with the same similarities which shows people the type of punishment for those who commit sins like accepting a bribe or fraud, or dishonesty. The defamation is done by announcing the other in any public way.

The Summary of the issue is that the basis in Muslims' honor is infallibility, and that calls for the prohibition of their defamation and is divided into two types:

First: The prohibition of human self-defamation; because if he's right for what he mentioned, it is prohibited because of self- harming, and making it public is straightly incompatible with the necessity of protecting it. However, if he's wrong for what he has mentioned about himself, then he has committed two sins: the sin of defamation and the sin of lying. The second type is the prohibition of defaming others; because it is objected to attacking people, abusing of them, and spreading sedition and temptations among them which all lead to degeneration and perversion. If the concerned defamed people are innocent and the intention was just to throw them with depreciation, that's prohibited because both cases is in the aim of backbiting and slander. Defamation also includes what is published in the media interfering in people privacies under the name of criticism if it includes intimation, insinuation or provoking them with intention of raging or infuriation. There is an exception of Defamation from a person against another based on a legitimate reason like advice, injuring testifiers, public dissipation maker, leaders of misguidance... as it's also excluded the deed of the ruler in the issue of penalties or what he thinks necessary for the interest of people like defaming cheats, false witnesses, bribe accepters and so on… The sentence is announced either in newspapers or in other kind of Media in a public manner. Allah knows best.